RGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 - Renewables GridRGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 2 Renewables Grid Initiative Annual...

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RGI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Transcript of RGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 - Renewables GridRGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 2 Renewables Grid Initiative Annual...

Page 1: RGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 - Renewables GridRGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 2 Renewables Grid Initiative Annual Report 2015 3 Dear readers, 2015 has been an important year for the energy sector.

RGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015

Page 2: RGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 - Renewables GridRGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 2 Renewables Grid Initiative Annual Report 2015 3 Dear readers, 2015 has been an important year for the energy sector.

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Page 3: RGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 - Renewables GridRGI AnnuAl RepoRt 2015 2 Renewables Grid Initiative Annual Report 2015 3 Dear readers, 2015 has been an important year for the energy sector.

Annual Report 2015 3

Dear readers, 2015 has been an important year for the energy sector. COP 21 in Paris has set a clear trajectory towards decarbonisation not just for a region, but also for the entire planet. Steady cost reductions for renewable energy sources - in particular solar pho-tovoltaic - have driven investments across the world and the majority of new installed capacity has been from renewable energy sources. This trend will con-tinue, new technologies and new approaches will fundamentally change the power sector in ways we havenotseeninthepast100years.

After five years of existence, RGI is needed more than ever. The trustful relationships we have suc-cessfully built among our members and our broader network are a strong asset to address the challeng-es the sector is facing and to look for solutions that can be acceptable to citizens, policy makers as well as industrial players. The energy transition we are experiencing is not just a technological and politi-cal challenge, but is first and foremost a societal experiment requiring careful handling.

This report gives you an overview of our new strat-egy that gives us the right framework to address the challenges ahead. Moreover, we present some of our highlights of 2015: We strengthened ties with old friends by collaborating with ENTSO-E for our 5th European Grid Conference and 2nd Good Prac-tice Award Ceremony; we explored new territory and gained new friends during a trip to California that we organised for a high-level delegation from Europe; we finished some of our projects, like BEST-GRID, and tapped into new fields, like the digitalisa-tion of the electricity sector.

We see that our continuous efforts to both engage in discussions with European decision-makers and to test practical approaches on the ground slowly lead to improved procedures. In autumn, the Euro-pean Commission published the second list of Pro-jects of Common Interest. Almost at the same time, our project BESTGRID came to an end, in which practical experiences were gathered that will also help implement other PCIs. Even though we still have a long way to go, procedures are increasingly becoming more open and credible.

2015 has again confirmed that great things will never be achieved alone, but need cross-societal collaboration. However, we also learned that leav-ing beaten paths and old thought patterns behind is indispensible for continuous improvement. That is why we try to challenge both our partners and ourselves every day. Let’s continue to work on the future of the electricity sector together!

Sincerely,

Antonella Battaglini, CEO Renewables Grid Initiative

Building the future together

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1. Advocacy• Continued exchange with the European Commis-

sion and NGOs about how to improve the PCI selection process

• Joint RGI response to Fitness Check on Birds & Habitats Directive to promote a stable legislative environment

• Position papers on how to further increase le-gitimacy and transparency of PCI process and on COP 21 in Paris, asking for strong commitment to phase out fossil fuel emissions

2. Events• 4th and 5th European Grid Conference in January

and November with participation of high-level power sector stakeholders

• Three BESTGRID workshops held in London, Mi-lan and Brussels, showcasing hands-on project findings

• Workshop “A decentralised electricity system – myths and facts” in April in Brussels together with project Community Power

• Event “The Importance of Big Data for the Ener-giewende” with Jeremy Rifkin and Chairperson of ENTSO-E’s board, Bente Hagem, in collaboration with Stiftung Mercator in April in Berlin

• Expert workshop on “Offshore Grid Infrastruc-ture” in December in Brussels

3. International exchange • “Energy Regions in Transition“ trip to California

with more than 15 high-level delegates

4. Best practice exchange• “Good Practice of the Year” award ceremony at

dinner of the ENTSO-E Annual Conference with high-level audience, including C-level represen-tatives of most of the European TSOs

• Publication of award brochure with foreword by ENTSO-E

5. Communication• Development of new website

6. Internal affairs• RGI members have jointly developed a new mis-

sion statement and three strategic objectives• Spanish TSO Red Eléctrica de España and Span-

ish NGO Fundación Renovables joined RGI• We moved into a new office in the centre of

Berlin

Main achieveMents 2015 in a nutshell

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In 2015, RGI went through a comprehensive stra-tegy process. All RGI members were involved via interviews and workshops to jointly review the RGI Mission Statement and develop a set of three Strategic Objectives:

Strategic Objective 1

Regarding the ‘Full Clarity on the Need for Grid Development to Integrate an Increasing Share of Renewables’“rgi has developed a comprehensive narrative which resonates with and is supported by its own partners and other external stakeholders and is communicated to all relevant european and national institutions.”

Strategic Objective 2

Regarding ‘Implementation of Best Practice Approaches’“rgi supports initiatives to improve transpar-ency, participation and nature protection dur-ing all grid implementation stages, thus leading to better projects and contributing to public support for the grid necessary for an increas-ingly renewables-based power system.”

Strategic Objective 3

Regarding a ‘Supportive Political, Policy and Regulatory Framework’“rgi builds public support and advocates for sustainable grid development with relevant eU and national legislative, regulatory and imple-menting institutions, and for supporting poli-cies and good governance.”

RGI MIssIon stAtEMEntrgi is a unique collaboration of NgOs and tSOs from across europe. We promote transparent, en-vironmentally sensitive grid development to enable further steady growth of renewable energy and the energy transition.

In addition to the Mission Statement and Strate-gic Objectives, a list of organisational enablers was agreed upon, including amongst others the respon-sibility of the RGI Secretariat to facilitate a con-tinued dialogue of partners, to help establish new TSO/NGO relationships or secure a continued par-ticipation of NGOs by considering this need via co-ordinated fundraising activities.

Strategic Objectives and organisational enablers have been phrased with a 5-year horizon in mind. However, they will be reviewed once a year for their continued fit. The Strategic Objectives provide the framework within which RGI develops its annual Business Plan.

our strategy

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The “Good Practice of the Year” is a competition ini-tiated by RGI in 2014. The award has been given out for the second time in November 2015; it aims to disseminate the many good grid development practices out there, give them the recognition they deserve, and to inspire future action and innova-tive thinking. The competition builds upon a Euro-pean-wide best practice exchange that RGI started in 2012. Since then, RGI has been collecting cases on how to make grid development more transpar-ent, participative and increasingly environmentally sound, so as to contribute to the social acceptability and the timely implementation of needed projects. All practices collected are available in a database on RGI’s website that provides different filter and search functions.

In 2015, the “Good Practice of the Year” jury hon-oured the projects “Creating Green Corridors” by

the LIFE Elia-RTE project for their efforts in “Envi-ronmental Protection”, the “Pulse heating“ by the Energy Supply Organisation of the Cooperative Society in Hjortshoej, Denmark (ESCSH), for their achievements in “Technology & Design” and Irish grid operator EirGrid’s “DS3 Advisory Council” in the “Communication & Participation” category. The LIFE Elia-RTE project focuses on biodiversity-friendly vegetation management under high-voltage grid lines, while “Pulse Heating” describes a district heating system using both pulse heat and solar pan-els to reduce heat losses in pipes and thus efficiently supply low-energy houses. EirGrid’s “DS3 Advisory Council” is comprised of a wide range of stakehold-ers that advise the Irish system operator on its way to creating the future of the Irish electricity system.

More information about the winners and 13 other commendable cases of the 2015 competition can be viewed in a brochure illustrating the top award contenders. The booklet can be downloaded on our website and introduces the reader to award submis-sions from grid operators 50Hertz, Mavir, EVN, RTE, Statnett, REE and TenneT, NGOs Germanwatch and NABU, infrastructure service provider Avacon, re-newable energy association APERe and the German network agency BNetzA.

We thank ENTSO-E for hosting the award ceremo-ny, the international audit and advisory company MAZARS for accompanying the process and our incredible jury for the time and expertise they con-tributed.

“good Practice of the year” award

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In October this year, BESTGRID came to a success-ful conclusion. The project that was funded under the framework Intelligent Energy Europe and initi-ated in April 2013, brought together five TSOs, two NGOs and one research institute to achieve three goals:

• To improve public acceptance for grids on local level by applying best practices regarding partici-pation and transparency in pilot projects

• To speed up permitting procedures, while re-specting environmental protection standards in pilot projects

• To ensure the implementation of best practices in future electricity „Projects of Common Interest“

The BESTGRID project was based on five pilot projects, located in the UK, Belgium and Germany. Three projects (the German projects Bertikow-Pasewalk and SuedLink and the Belgian Waterloo - Braine-l’Alleud) implemented new approaches to ensure the engagement of stakeholders. Two pro-jects (the UK Nemo Link project and the Belgian Stevin project) conducted retrospective assess-ments of engagement and environmental protec-tion and permitting activities that had already taken place.

What sets BESTGRID apart from other projects of its kind is that all initiatives were jointly developed. NGO partners played an active role in the design and implementation of activities and served as ob-servers throughout the project, providing TSOs with feedback on the various measures taken.

The project was concluded with a final conference that took place in September and the publication of the final report “Testing Better Practices”. The re-port includes the ten most striking lessons learned throughout the project’s lifespan and is available on the project website: www.bestgrid.eu.

Members of the BESTGRID consortium and many of its stakeholders wish for the insights gained to be implemented in a multitude of further grid develop-ment projects. However, active engagement is of-ten limited by resource constraints, especially in the case of NGOs. Members of the BESTGRID consor-tium and Advisory Board therefore support the idea of setting up an independent fund, which would provide resources to facilitate the cooperation of TSOs and NGOs to engage in grid-related activi-ties, both at the strategic level and on the ground. RGI hopes to build on the experiences gained in BESTGRID and to put this idea into practice in the coming months and years.

BestgridTesting better practices

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Between October 19th and 24th, RGI and the local Renewables 100 Policy Institute organised a best practice exchange tour to California for a delegation of European energy leaders, comprising senior TSO, NGO, regulator, government and academia repre-sentatives. Under the banner of “Energy Regions in Transition”, the delegation had high-level meetings on grid related issues that are relevant for both Eu-rope and the United States. The purpose of the tour was for different groups of people dealing with very similar challenges to get acquainted with each other and lay the foundation for a long-term exchange be-tween energy experts from both sides of the Atlan-tic. RGI is convinced that the energy transition will hugely benefit if many of its most involved players look beyond their own horizon, increase their ex-pertise with respect to technical, financial, regula-tory and societal solutions and deepen their under-standing of the transferability of approaches to and from another regional context.

“The transformation of our energy system is excit-ing and challenging at the same time. The success

“energy regions in transition” European energy expert tour to California

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“energy regions in transition” European energy expert tour to California

of the on-going revolution will depend on the ability of actors to learn from each other, to share their ex-periences, formulate the right questions and jointly look for answers. Our aim is to foster the exchange of best practices for the benefit of all regions going through the energy transition“, RGI’s CEO Antonella Battaglini explains the rationale behind the “Energy Regions in Transition” programme.

The tour included visits to the Tesla factory and Stanford University, as well as discussions with

Silicon Valley technology companies, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The annual Stake-holder Symposium of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on October 22-23 topped off the week, bringing together 1000 attendees, including energy executives, policy makers and the CAISO Board of Governors. During the Symposium, ten of our European delegates spoke on European perspectives with regard to the transition to a low-carbon grid and regional cooperation on two pan-

els moderated by RGI CEO Antonella Battaglini and BNEF founder Michael Liebreich.

The trip is the continuation of an exchange that has been initiated in 2013, when RGI invited Dave Ol-sen, member of the Board of Governors of CAISO, to a series of events in Brussels and Berlin, includ-ing the 3rd European Grid Conference.

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Power transmission via subsea cables is required to interconnect terrestrial grids, to supply offshore facilities and to connect renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind, wave and tidal power with the grid.

According to the ENTSO-E 2014 Ten-Year Network Development Plan, some 20.000 km of new subsea cables are needed by 2030, for an estimated invest-ment cost of €50 billion.

In this context, environmental impacts associated with subsea cables, such as electromagnetic fields, subsea disturbance, thermal emissions or contami-nation need to be better understood. The challenges to assess and understand the (cumulative) effects of subsea cables on the marine environment are very real for permitting bodies, developers, investors and environmental protection organisations.

RGI intends to better understand these impacts, gather key environmental information and identify possible knowledge gaps. To this end, RGI organ-ised the expert workshop “Offshore grid infrastruc-ture: understanding cumulative impacts & exploring multi-functionality and environmental monitoring” in December 2015 and commissioned a review of

the impacts of subsea cables on the marine environ-ment and key environmental information.

The commissioned work also included expert testi-monials and outlined a set of nine recommendations for stakeholders to take forward, such as: improved procedures at the outset of project planning and knowledge sharing; improved guidance on envi-ronmental impact assessments (EIA), including EIA scoping and cumulative effect assessment; a clearer focus on research areas that would lead to a bet-ter understanding of different consenting require-ments across countries; and an improved handling of knowledge gaps identified by current literature, the industry and relevant stakeholders.

rgi’s work on offshore gridsUnderstanding environmental impacts and identifying knowledge gaps

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Intelligently designed community payments can be seen as a way to both increase local support and supply the appropriate gain to communities that host vital grid infrastructure. Many European TSOs expressed an interest in the independent develop-ment of consistent guidelines for providing commu-nity payments as part of their development package. This is important for the needed development of the electricity grid, as projects are often either blocked or slowed down considerably due to the opposition of local stakeholders, and the lack of local “value” seen in the project. RGI began working on this issue in late 2014, with the purpose of understanding the regulatory landscape across Europe, sharing current practices and identifying good practices that could be scaled up to a pan-European context.

Over the course of the year RGI held two engag-ing mini-workshops that brought together inter-ested TSO and NGO partners from across Europe to share experiences and discuss possible best practices. Important contributions were garnered from 50Hertz, EirGrid, Terna and RTE with BirdLife Europe and Germanwatch providing the environ-mental protection and civil society perspectives. Discussions at the workshops addressed, among other topics, mechanisms for distributing money to communities, the role of authorities and regulators, legal and reputational risks for TSOs, the practical impact on project acceptance and issues of equity, democracy and justice. During discussions, five “key principles” for effective community payments were agreed upon amongst participants. These principles focused on ensuring payments made by TSOs for lo-cal projects would be based on pre-determined laws and guidelines that were set and governed in a fully transparent way.

Beyond this work, RGI is in the process of producing a brochure that sets out “on the ground” case study examples of community payment mechanisms cur-rently being implemented across Europe. This will act as a knowledge-sharing tool for all those inter-ested in this field, including TSOs, NGOs, regulators and local stakeholders.

coMMunity coMPensationExchanging good practices and developing recommendations

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RGI events are an integral part of our work and great opportunities to engage with our partners, friends and wider network. Topics we discussed in 2015 included the impacts of a more and more decen-tralised electricity system, the digitalisation of the power system, the implementation of PCIs and the interplay of energy and democracy. Contributions from speakers and participants were as diverse as valuable: we had visionary speakers like Jeremy Rifkin, author of the “The Third Industrial Revolu-tion”, unusual pairs that embraced the beauty of collaboration, like the Secretary-General of ENTSO-E, Konstantin Staschus, debating with CAN Europe Director Wendel Trio on the Grid Conference stage, and many partners that shared hands-on experi-ences from their work on the ground at our three BESTGRID events.

Our numerous participants engaged in personal dis-cussions at different networking occasions, such as joint dinners or during a field trip to admire Terna’s innovative pylon design. We picked the brains of our guests via different discussion formats, a simulation game, and fishbowl as well as panel discussions.

One of our personal highlights in the 2015 event calendar was the third BESTGRID workshop that we dedicated to exchanging best practices. In Febru-ary, more than 60 practitioners came to London to share their experiences regarding nature conserva-tion and stakeholder engagement. A “speed-dating” at the very beginning of the workshop broke the ice and encouraged people to build up personal rela-tions and talk about the lessons they have learned through their work. A “best practice fair” built the core of the event – showcasing eight different good practice examples at different information stands.

Feedback of the participants towards the idea of sharing best practices via personal interaction was exceptionally high. This is why we will continue to offer similar formats in the future and look for-ward to meeting many of you at one of RGI’s public events in 2016.

rgi events in 2015Building personal relations and sharing best practices

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RGI is a membership organisation with 16 partners from across Europe. They include the following grid operators and NGOs:

governancePartners

tsos nGos

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oUR BoARDInbetween the yearly Members’ Assemblies. the Board is the highest decision making organ of the Renewables Grid Initiative association. It consists of at least six partner representatives, including two chairmen and a treasurer. The Board members are elected by the Members Assembly and shall consist of an equal number of TSO and NGO representa-tives. To speed up decision-making in daily matters, each RGI Board member has a dedicated responsi-bility. The people on the left were part of the RGI Board in 2015.

Interview with olivier Feix, Co-Chair of the RGI Board & Head of nature Protection and Permitting at 50Hertz, on his 2015 RGI highlights:

1. From the perspective of the Board, what are RGI‘s most important achievements of 2015 and which activities should we build upon in 2016?

RGI’s main strength is bringing the right people to-gether in the right projects. The overarching goal is to harmonise nature protection, renewables and grid development. That is only possible if collabo-ration is combined with productive approaches and the mutual will to learn from one another. By de-veloping positions on the meta-level and interlink-ing them with concrete projects on the ground, RGI has greatly fostered this exchange over the past years and has continued to do so last year. We had excellent workshops and activities on the ground and successfully concluded the BESTGRID project in 2015. I hope and believe that we can keep this momentum and build bridges for even closer on the ground cooperation between TSOs and NGOs in 2016.2. The Board and the Secretariat ran the 2015 revision

of RGI‘s strategy. What would you say are the most relevant outcomes of this process?

The strategy process was well carried out and dealt with the right issues. I think we have gained a lot of maturity through this process and we have de-veloped clear scenarios for the coming years. Next

governanceBoard, Secretariat

Christoph Bals

Policy Director at

Germanwatch

olivier Feix

HeadofNatureProtection

andPermittingat50Hertz,

Co-Chairman of the RGI

Board

Paul-Georg Garmer

SeniorPublicAffairs

Manager at TenneT,

Treasurer of the RGI

Board

Dr. stephan singer

Head Global Energy

Policy at WWF

International,Co-

Chairman of the RGI Board

Jörg spicker

Head of Market

OperationsatSwissgrid

Ivan scrase, senior

Climate Change Policy

OfficeratRSPB

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Antonella Battaglini

ChiefExecutiveOfficer

Antina sander

DeputyExecutiveDirector

Kristina steenbock

Senior Advisor

nikola Lesinski

Financial Manager

theresa schneider

Senior Project Manager

Julien sialelli

Project Manager

stephanie Bätjer

Project Manager

Andrew Carryer

Junior Project Manager

sylvia Kessler

OfficeAdministrator

Amelia strzepek

Personal Assistant to the

ChiefExecutiveOfficer

year, we should focus on creating an even more ba-lanced funding strategy that combines member-ship fees, European funds and project funding in the smartest way possible. 3. You were part of the „Energy Regions in Transition“

trip to California. What are your main take-ways from the journey?

The joint trip to California has been immensely helpful in terms of alliance building, as has the BESTGRID project by the way. Without these two initiatives I would not have met and built valuable relationships with people who will become precious

allies in further developing our work in ecological corridor management, bird protection or our con-sideration of the marine environment in offshore grid projects. I also hope that we have given some constructive impulses to the ambitious colleagues we met in California and that we have conveyed to them how grid operators can actually contribute to a successful energy transition. On our side, we have definitely taken some lessons home that now enrich our discussions at 50Hertz, in particular with regard to battery technology and digitalisation.

FUnDInGRGI gratefully acknowledges three different funding sources: membership fees from partner organisations; funding from the Mercator Foundation and the European Climate Foundation; and grants from the European Commission for the project INSPIRE-Grid.

tHE sECREtARIAtThe secretariat manages and coordinates all RGI activities. It develops and implements strategies and action plans, administers approved budgets, publicly represents RGI, networks and develops background briefings.

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About RGIRGI is a unique collaboration of NGOs and TSOs from across Europe. We promote transparent, environmentally sensitive grid development to enable further steady growth of renewable energy and the en-ergy transition.

More information: www.renewables-grid.eu

Copyrights©Fotolia: Front cover, p.11, back cover©Renewables 100 Policy Institute: p.4, 8, 9, back cover©50Hertz: p.7©TenneT: p.7©Terna: p.10, back cover

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